SOLON, Ohio — A simple message on Facebook.
That’s all it took to start a chain of events that police say left a 63-year-old Solon man out more than $1 million.
As National Consumer Protection Week begins, investigators say the case is a powerful reminder of how quickly online conversations can turn into financial devastation — and why new scam-detection tools are now rolling out across social media platforms.
According to Solon Police, what began as a friendly message from a stranger quickly evolved into what Lt. Victor Vajdich described as a “brand-new start-up friendship with an individual who owned a business somewhere.”
Before long, the conversation shifted to cryptocurrency investing.
“And then through chatting, this person was talking about how they made some money on crypto investing,” Vajdich said.
Investigators say the suspect then made a critical move — directing the victim away from Facebook and onto a different messaging platform, WhatsApp.
Over several months, police say the scammer convinced the man to deposit more than $1 million into what he believed was a legitimate crypto investment opportunity.
Instead, it was a fake company designed to drain his savings.
The case reflects a broader and troubling trend.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ohioans aged 60 and older lost more than $95 million to fraud in 2024.
“This can happen to anybody — all walks of life,” said Milan Kosanovich with the FBI’s Cleveland office. “Young, old, any education level and amount of money you have in the bank account, the fraudsters are going to go after you.”
As part of National Consumer Protection Week, Meta Platforms — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — says it is expanding tools to detect and disrupt scams before victims lose money.
Lori Moylan, Meta’s Public Policy Director, says stronger artificial intelligence systems are now reviewing suspicious messages from unknown contacts.
Users can enable scam detection in Messenger's privacy settings.
If Meta’s systems flag a message as potentially fraudulent, users may receive warnings along with guidance on how to protect themselves.
Meta is also launching new screen-share warnings on WhatsApp. If someone who is not in your contacts calls and asks you to share your screen — a tactic commonly used by scammers impersonating banks or businesses — the app will display a warning label.
Moylan says that’s not behavior legitimate companies typically request in an initial message or call.
Instead, she advises users to look up an organization’s official website and use verified customer service channels if they have concerns.
The scale of the problem is significant.
In just the first half of 2025, Meta says it removed eight million accounts suspected of scam activity and took down 21,000 pages posing as customer support for legitimate businesses.
In the Solon case, investigators say several red flags were present: the conversation began with a stranger, quickly turned to cryptocurrency, moved to a more private messaging platform, and promised returns that seemed too good to be true.
If you have a consumer-related question or concern, you can reach me at michael.brookbank@wews.com or message News 5 on Facebook.
This Friday, an attorney from the Federal Trade Commission Cleveland office will join us live in studio to discuss the most prevalent scams in Northeast Ohio — and how to report fraud before more families lose their savings.
